YieldLens UK

How it works

How YieldLens UK works

Commercial lease pressure-testing before you sign. YieldLens UK turns rent, revenue, costs, opening cash, and downside assumptions into an indicative viability view before a lease becomes expensive to unwind.

YieldLens UK provides indicative decision-support only. It is not a valuation, financial advice, mortgage advice, legal advice, tax advice, or a substitute for professional due diligence.

In one line

It turns lease assumptions into a structured early warning view.

The point is not to promise certainty. The point is to make the rent, trading, opening cash, and lease questions easy to review before you commit.

What it asks

  • Can the business carry the rent?
  • Does the opening buffer look thin?
  • What happens if trade starts weak?

Why this exists

A lease can look fine until the real costs are added.

Commercial tenants often focus on whether a site looks good. The harder question is whether the site can carry the rent after fit-out, deposits, staff, supplier costs, and a weaker-than-planned start.

A rent figure can look acceptable until it is measured against expected revenue.
Setup costs can absorb more cash than the business expected before trading begins.
A weak start can expose whether the site works in real trading, not only in the best case.
Lease wording can shift the economics even when the headline rent looks reasonable.

What the free commercial check does

The free result is the fast viability snapshot.

It gives the headline numbers you need to decide whether a site deserves more time.

Rent burden

Shows whether rent still leaves room for staff, stock, service charge, and slower early trade.

Break-even customers

Turns the rent and cost base into a daily customer target so optimistic trade assumptions are easier to challenge.

Opening cash

Shows whether fit-out, deposit, legal fees, stock, and launch costs leave enough buffer.

Downside trading

Checks what happens if early trade lands below the best case.

Six-month survival

Shows whether the site can absorb a weak start or needs better terms before signing.

Risk flags

Surfaces the pressure points that deserve another look before the lease gets expensive to unwind.

How to read the result

The score is a screening signal, not a final answer.

A good score means the entered assumptions look more workable. A caution or fragile result means the assumptions, rent terms, evidence, and cash buffer need more checking. The result is only as useful as the numbers entered.

Good scores suggest the current lease shape looks more workable on the entered assumptions.
Caution or fragile results suggest the rent, opening capital, or trading assumptions deserve a closer look.
The model does not create certainty. It helps the user see which assumption is carrying the weight.
A result is only as strong as the evidence behind the inputs.

What the £49 Standard Commercial Viability File adds

The paid file turns the snapshot into a decision memo.

It keeps the same numbers but organises them into a printable report the user can use for negotiation and due diligence before signing.

Executive summary
Stress-test interpretation
Rent burden interpretation
Break-even customer context
Opening cash and buffer view
Six-month downside survival
Negotiation levers
Evidence checklist
Lease questions
Printable memo

Proof in practice

The metrics work together, not in isolation.

Each check answers a different part of the lease question, and together they show where the pressure sits.

Rent burden

Checks whether rent still leaves room for staff, stock, service charge, and quieter early trade.

Break-even customers

Turns the rent and cost base into a daily customer target so optimistic footfall assumptions are easier to challenge.

Opening cash

Shows whether fit-out, deposit, legal fees, launch stock, and setup costs leave enough breathing room.

Downside survival

Checks whether a weaker start still gives the operator time to adjust.

Evidence checklist

Reduces assumption risk by showing what should be verified before signing.

Methodology

How YieldLens checks commercial lease viability

It is built for early screening, not for market valuation or full professional review.

Step 1

Enter the lease and trading assumptions

Add rent, revenue, costs, opening cash, and downside assumptions from the site you are checking.

Step 2

YieldLens organises the assumptions into a viability snapshot

The free check pulls the numbers, known lease costs, and evidence gaps into one view so the pressure points are easier to compare.

Step 3

Review rent burden, opening cash, break-even pressure, and downside risk

The snapshot shows whether the lease looks fragile once the opening and downside cases are included.

Step 4

Use the £49 file if you need a printable decision memo

The Standard Commercial Viability File turns the same result into a printable memo with lease questions to raise before signing.

What users should verify before signing

The checks that matter before the lease becomes hard to unwind.

These are the items that should be checked after the commercial result but before commitment.

Comparable rents
Footfall
Competitor density
Service charge
Business rates
Utility costs
Supplier costs
Staffing assumptions
Fit-out quotes
Deposit terms
Rent-free period
Break clause
Repair obligations
Rent review terms
Planning and licensing

Illustrative example

A fictional cafe example shows how the questions sharpen.

The example is fictional and redacted so the reasoning path can be seen without exposing a real tenant or property.

Fictional case

A fictional cafe operator is comparing a unit with strong footfall but a rent level that looks heavy once the full cost stack is included.

YieldLens points to a high rent burden, a break-even target that needs checking against real footfall, and an opening cash buffer that looks thin after launch costs.

That pushes the operator to ask about rent-free time, landlord contribution, fit-out scope, service charge, and evidence for demand before signing.

Before and after pressure-test

Before: high rent burden

Rent absorbs too much of the monthly revenue, leaving less room for staff, stock, service charge, and quieter weeks.

Before: demanding break-even target

The daily customer target only becomes useful when it is compared with seating, opening hours, and realistic trade patterns.

After: better opening terms

A rent-free period, lower deposit, or landlord contribution can improve the opening buffer and make launch pressure easier to carry.

After: stronger negotiation position

A break clause and clearer evidence for demand turn the result into a better conversation before signing.

YieldLens would push the user to challenge the rent, confirm footfall, verify fit-out costs, and review lease clauses before committing. The paid file then organises the same result into the memo used for negotiation and due diligence.

What YieldLens does not do

The limits are deliberate.

The tool is there to help with early screening and decision support, not to replace the people and evidence that close the deal.

It does not value property.
It does not review lease documents.
It does not verify sales assumptions.
It does not check legal liability.
It does not check planning or licensing.
It does not replace a solicitor, surveyor, accountant, or professional adviser.

Final CTA

Run the free check before the lease becomes expensive to unwind.